|
| LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
02-02-2014, 08:51 AM | #1 |
Quarry Creeper Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Nanaimo
Posts: 221
| Does charge rate effect run time lipo?
Just as it says ive got some lipo packs that are getting on in there lifespan and starting to dump early. i was wondering if charging at a lower amperage lik 1a vs my regular 4a will improve runtime? Any other tricks for improving runtime on lipo packs?
|
Sponsored Links | |
02-02-2014, 09:38 AM | #2 |
What could go wrong? Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Southern Ontario
Posts: 474
| Re: Does charge rate effect run time lipo?
Shouldn't do, no. You're just making the charger push more slowly, essentially. If you don't balance charge, I'd advise picking up a cheap balancer as well. I'm sure others will chime in as well . |
02-02-2014, 09:51 AM | #3 |
I wanna be Dave Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fairfield ME
Posts: 3,886
| Re: Does charge rate effect run time lipo?
It depends on the charger. One of my flying buddies uses the same packs that I do. If he charges at 2c with his china charger it finishes quickly and and doesn't quite fill the pack. When I charge the same packs at 2c with my Hyperion the algorithm slows down the charge rate so much near the end of the charge that it fills it up like you started on 1c. At the end of the charge that started at 5amps the Hyperion is charging at .15amps. I don't think his china charger slows down any where near that much at the end and it finishes more abruptly.
|
02-02-2014, 10:26 AM | #4 |
I wanna be Dave Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: New Port Richey, FL.
Posts: 2,545
| Re: Does charge rate effect run time lipo?
Yeah, you're not gonna get the same results when using a high quality charger compared to a cheap piece of crap.
|
02-02-2014, 12:48 PM | #5 |
Quarry Creeper Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Nanaimo
Posts: 221
|
I have both cheap dual and quality chargers. I Always balance charge
|
02-02-2014, 12:50 PM | #6 |
Quarry Creeper Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Nanaimo
Posts: 221
|
So no tricks for gaining runtime on experienced packs?
|
02-02-2014, 12:55 PM | #7 |
I wanna be Dave Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: New Port Richey, FL.
Posts: 2,545
| Re: Does charge rate effect run time lipo?
Are you not getting full charges? Does your charger show capacity as a percentage? If not, do you have a lipo meter?
|
02-02-2014, 01:03 PM | #8 |
RCC Addict Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: British Columbia
Posts: 1,487
| Re: Does charge rate effect run time lipo? |
02-02-2014, 01:28 PM | #9 |
Pebble Pounder Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Apple Valley MN
Posts: 189
| Re: Does charge rate effect run time lipo?
I charge most of my packs at 1C, although some of my larger lipos I'll charge at 1.5C (I'm talking about 5 cells or bigger 5000+ mAh lipos, even though they're rated for 5C charging). Always balance charge and never run them down past 3.7V per cell. I have had lipos last 4+ years with heavy usage for some of my smaller airplanes. Most of time I'll 'retire' a battery due to the balancing wires pulling out of the battery. My current batch of 2s5000 packs for some of my trucks are around 3 years old and still going strong. Having a decent charger is a must, and I know a lot of people balk at spending $200 for a charger and/ or power supply but it's a worthwhile investment for RC hobbies.
|
02-02-2014, 02:19 PM | #10 |
I wanna be Dave Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: New Port Richey, FL.
Posts: 2,545
| Re: Does charge rate effect run time lipo? |
02-02-2014, 07:24 PM | #11 | |
Newbie Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: So cal
Posts: 6
| Re: Does charge rate effect run time lipo? Quote:
Thanks | |
02-02-2014, 09:09 PM | #12 |
~THE SCALE SHOP~ Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: KILLEEN TX
Posts: 10,056
| Re: Does charge rate effect run time lipo?
in my old NiCad racing days it did. a fast high C charge would discharge harder but not last as long. a slow trickle charge would last a bit longer but not have as much punch. no clue if true or not, but that was the consensous. |
02-03-2014, 02:38 AM | #13 | |
RCC Addict Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Sweden
Posts: 1,809
| Re: Does charge rate effect run time lipo? Quote:
This maximize the capacity and I see no reason why it shouldn't also be able to deliver at least as high current as if fast charged. Another aspect to consider is the number of cycles. Higher charge rates "eat" permanent capacity faster from the battery, so after 200 recharges a battery that's always been charged at 1.5C will have notably less capacity than one of same make/model/batch that's always been charged at 0.5C. | |
02-03-2014, 09:41 AM | #14 | |
I wanna be Dave Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Tri-cities, WA
Posts: 4,831
| Re: Does charge rate effect run time lipo? Quote:
As far as older battery types the charge rate absolutely made a difference. We would charge our 1700 scr packs at 2 amps till they peaked then right before lining them up crank it up to 10 amps fore initial hit off the line. That higher peak would last about half a lap. | |
02-03-2014, 11:32 AM | #15 | |
I wanna be Dave Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fairfield ME
Posts: 3,886
| Re: Does charge rate effect run time lipo? Quote:
| |
02-03-2014, 12:47 PM | #16 |
I wanna be Dave Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Tri-cities, WA
Posts: 4,831
| Re: Does charge rate effect run time lipo? |
02-04-2014, 06:39 AM | #17 | |
RCC Addict Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Sweden
Posts: 1,809
| Re: Does charge rate effect run time lipo? Quote:
What you also did was to permanently reduce the total capacity by ~10% (according to a study performed at a Swedish college a couple of years back), so I suppose the packs weren't useful for that many runs. It would also be interesting to know the difference in top speed at lap 20 between a "supercharged" battery compared to a slowly charged one... | |
02-04-2014, 11:08 AM | #18 | |
I wanna be Dave Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Tri-cities, WA
Posts: 4,831
| Re: Does charge rate effect run time lipo? Quote:
Nicad and nihm batteries acted far different depending on charge rate. A slow 1 amp charge would last a long time but top speed was reduced. A higher charge rate made the top speed at the expense of run time. i haven't noticed that effect in lipo batteries. | |
02-04-2014, 12:12 PM | #19 |
I wanna be Dave Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Arlington, Washington
Posts: 2,303
| Re: Does charge rate effect run time lipo?
10% my ass..........we used to nuke our packs daily and there certainly was no 10% drop in runtime....we would see a drop over time sure, but nothing like a 10% rate, I doubt it was even 1%. But to answer the OP question, regardless of battery type....higher charge rates will over time shorten cell life, not only reducing runtime but increase resistance and within time lower voltage curves. Don't buy into the no memory crap either.....NICADs were by far the worst, but anyone who raced when NIMH hit the scene can recall the whole "they have no memory" crap we were told. NIMH had memory as well, just not as bad as NICADs....Lithium packs have it as well, its just greatly reduced... Later EddieO |
02-04-2014, 02:29 PM | #20 |
I wanna be Dave Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: New Port Richey, FL.
Posts: 2,545
| Re: Does charge rate effect run time lipo?
There's nothing wrong with high charge rates on a lipo as long as the battery is designed for it. Most of mine are charged at 3C except for the few that the mfr. states 1C charge rate max.
|
Does charge rate effect run time lipo? - Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Lipo charge rate? (first time charging) | dogsofwar | Newbie General | 18 | 08-26-2011 06:12 PM |
charge rate for Blue 2s lipo 2200mah? | bluenosegoat | Electronics | 5 | 01-07-2011 05:10 PM |
Lipo charge time? | ba450crf | Electronics | 10 | 06-06-2010 10:44 AM |
Alien gets 5 hours run time on a 6 hour charge - WTF? | Doc Mojave | Electronics | 3 | 03-02-2010 08:18 PM |
lipo run time | spgrading | Electronics | 2 | 12-27-2009 09:56 PM |
| |